Wife of Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, today expressed her determination to partner with stakeholders to reduce loss of sight in the state, saying she desires to always “support life-saving initiatives and taking care of the less privileged people who have little or no access to quality healthcare.”
Speaking in Ijebu-Ode during the flag-off ceremony of free eye screening exercise and distribution of drugs, eye drops, glasses to the less privileged people from the state’s 20 local government areas, Mrs. Amosun said eyesight is something that many people often taken for granted.
Dubbed Ogun State Free Eye Camp, Mrs. Amosun explained that one million Nigerians are suffering from cataract, a purely curable cause of blindness, noting that Ogun State has limited facilities and exorbitant rate forces people to resort to negligence or unsafe traditional methods, which lead to loss of sight.
According to her: “We are passionate about the health of the people in all the nooks and crannies of Ogun State, especially the less privileged sections of our society. Eyesight is something that can easily be taken for granted.
“That is why we have stepped up our awareness campaign to reduce loss of sight in the state. We consider it an honour to be in the position to make a real and lasting impact in the lives of our people.
“It is our belief that every citizen in Ogun State deserves good health and we are committed to making the right partnerships to support the current Ogun State administration’s aim to providing quality healthcare and increased access to free surgeries.
“By this, we shall fulfill our desire to empower our people to take control of their health and live more fulfilled lives.”
Mrs. Amosun said she’s partnering with the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, Enpee Group, Purechem Industries Limited and other like minds to prevent continuous loss of sight in the state and ensure that sight-restoring surgeries are performed within a specific period of time.
Also speaking at the occasion, Group Managing Director of Enpee Group, Mr. Vinod Ganglani, said his company was very happy to partner with the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation to “give the gift of sight to those Ogun indigenes who are unfortunate to be living with either curable blindliness or minor eye ailments.”
He added that over the next few weeks his company, in collaboration with other partners, would have “secondary screening of about 1,200 people and would be distributing anti-biotic eye-drops and reading glasses to help some of the people with minor eyes and reading conditions.”
The project, which is being led by qualified healthcare professionals from within and outside Nigeria, has set up over 10 screening centres across the state, offering free screening, treatments and surgeries on patients with various degrees of visual impairments.
More than 3,500 people have been screened across the state.